Folding chair



1935- J. P. MOLLING ET AL FOLDING CHAIR Filed Nov. 12, 1930 2Sheets-Sheet l I fnz/enzrrj Jin A fyazlz'ny Yeaa'are h/flrzazensarz d.8, 1935. J. P. MOLLING ET AL FOLDING CHAIR Filed Nov. 12, 1930 2Sheets-Sheet 2 Jabz 22.70221- Patented Oct. 8, 1935 UNITED STATESFOLDING CHAIR John P. Molling and Theodore Wm. Anderson, Kenosha, Wis.,assignors to Simmons Company, New York, N. Y., a corporation of DelawareApplication November 12, 1930, Serial No. 495,059

4 Claims. (01. 143) This invention relates to an improved folding chairstructure, and more particularly to the type of folding chair which isoften referred to as a bridge chair or card table chair.

It is the object of the invention to provide a strong and rigid foldingchair of comparatively light weight construction and low cost ofmanufacture, while at the same time providing a chair of greater comfortthan has heretofore been obtainable in the said type of folding chairs.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be understood byreference to the following specification and accompanying drawings (twosheets) in which a folding chair embodying a selected form of theinvention is illustrated.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation showing the chair in extended or unfoldedposition;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary side elevation showing the parts in partlyfolded relation;

Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the chair when folded, and

Fig. 4 is a section on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3.

Referring now to the drawings, the improved chair herein disclosedincludes a main frame member 5 which is formed of tubular metal bent tosubstantially inverted U-shape so as to provide front legs 6 and l, anda back member comprising side portions 6' and 1 and a connecting portion8 which extends between the side members 6' and 1'. As clearly shown inFig. 1, the side portions 6' and 1 of the back are bent as indicated at9' so as to extend more nearly vertical than the leg portions 6 and 1,thereby to position the top member 8 in a comfortable back rest positionrelative to the seat of the chair. The forwardly offset relation of theupper portion of the chair back is also advantageous in that the upperportion of the back rest does not project rearwardly to such an extentthat a comparatively small space between the chair and the wall of aroom or other object is obstructed so as to prevent a person frompassing between the object and the back of the 'chair. It is, of course,understood that a. person desiring to pass between the chair and anobject back of the chair can readily step over the projecting rear legs,wherefore the latter do not materially obstruct such space.

Rear legs 9 and II], also of tubular metal construction, are pivotallyconnected to the front legs intermediate the lengths of both the frontand rear legs, by means of a pivot member II which is anchored at itsends in the front legs 6 and I, as clearly indicated in Fig. 3. Thepivot member ll extends through the respective rear legs 9 and it andserves to tie the legs of the U-shaped frame member together adjacenttheir free ends and also to maintain the same in permanently spacedrelation. The rear legs 9 and 5 ID are rigidly tied together adjacenttheir lower ends by a tie rod l2, which may also be anchored to the legsso as to serve as a spacer for maintaining the legs in properly spacedrelation. Suitable cap members l3 may be attached to the 1 0 lower endsof the legs to prevent scratching or otherwise marring the floor onwhich the chair is placed.

A seat M of suitable construction, for instance, ply wood with'a leatheror otherwise covered 15, padded top, is provided and mounted on theupper ends of the legs so as to be foldable from normal seat position asshown in Fig. 1 to folded position as shown in Fig. 4. For so mountingthe seat It, the same is provided with depending 20 flange members l5,I5 at its opposite sides, the same being secured to the bottom of theseat by suitable fastening means, such as indicated at It, which extendthrough inwardly extending flanges such as H which are disposed againstthe 25 bottom of the seat; in this instancethe depending flanges l5 andthe attaching flanges ll constituting the flanges of a strip of angleiron. The side flanges l5 are provided with a pair of substantiallyaligned but relatively independent 30 slots 18 and I9 adjacent the frontand rear ends respectively of the seat. The rear legs 9 and Ill areconnected to the seat adjacent its front edge through the agency ofpivot studs at which are anchored in the upper ends of the respective 35legs and which extend outwardly through the slots H3 in the respectiveflanges [5. Thus, it will be seen that the seat, adjacent its frontedge, is pivotally and laterally movably connected to the upper ends ofthe rear legs 9 and Hi. Adjacent its rear end, the seat is mounted onthe front legs 6 and 1 for pivotal and lateral movement relative theretothrough the agency of a seat-supporting pivot rod 2| which extendsthrough the relatively short slots l 9 in the flanges 45 l5, l5 and isanchored at its ends in the side members of the inverted U-shaped frame,i. e., in the upper ends of the front legs 6 and I.

A back rest member 22 extends between and is permanently mounted in theside members 6 50 and l of the chair back, the back rest being arched tocomfortably fit the back of the person occupying the chair. Also, inorder to secure the greatest degree of comfort, the back rest 22 isdisposed in a position which may be consid- 55 ered unusually low in theback of a chair of the type herein involved. The distance from thebottom edge of the back rest to the top of the seat of the chair whenthe latter is in extended or unfolded position, as shown in Fig. 1, is,in this instance, less than the distance between the seat-supportingpivot rod 2| and the front edge of the seat.

The improved chair described above may be adjusted to its folded orcollapsed position, as

illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4, by lifting upwardly and urging towardseach other the back of the chair and the front edge of the seat M. Theinitial portion of the folding movement usually results in shifting ofthe seat I4 on the supporting pivot rod 2| to the position shown in Fig.2, followed by pivotal movement of the seat around the pivot rod 2| andrelative lateral movement between the seat and the upper ends of therear legs 9 and ill. The slots l9 are of such length that the distancebetween the front ends thereof and the front edge. of the seat issomewhat less than the distance between the pivot rod 2| and the loweredge of the back rest 22. Hence, upon continued pivotal movement of theseat around the pivot rod 2|, the seat may be brought into foldedposition between the side members of the U-shaped frame and beneath theback rest, as clearly shown in Fig. 4.

The slots I8 in the depending flanges |5 are preferably of such lengththat inthe folding movement of the chair, the pivot studs 20 will engagethe ends of the slots l8 somewhat before the fully closed position ofthe seat is reached. Since the engaged ends of the slots l8 swing on ashort radius about the pivot rod 2| and the pivot studs 20 swing on arelatively long radius about the leg pivot rod below the pivot rod 2|,it will be evident that the distance between the pivot rod 2| and thepivot studs 20 will decrease as the pivot studs 20 approach alignmentwith the pivot rods 2| and II. Inasmuch as the ends of the slots I8 areengaged by the studs 20 before fully folded position is reached, it willbe seen thatthere will result a binding or clamping action between theleg pivot rod the pivot rod 2|, and the pivot studs 20. Slightresiliency of the pivot rods and 2| and possibly of the upper endportions 23 of the rear legs facilitates the attainment of said clampingaction. 'Such binding or clamping action is effective to maintain thechair in folded condition. As shown in Fig. 4, the axis of the leg pivotrod II, the seat pivot rod 2| and pivot studs 20 are in substantialalignment when the chair is fully folded.

'The upper ends of the rear legs 9 and H] are preferably reduced indiameter by' compressing the tubes of which the legs are formed withoutstretching the same longitudinally, thereby to increase the thickness ofthe wall of the tube so as to maintain the strength of the larger legportions 9 and H) in the reduced-diameter upper end portions. At theirextreme upper ends; the legs 9 and I!) are collapsed to provideflattened end portions, as clearly shown in Fig. 3,.for facilitating themounting of the pivot studs 20 in the legs. The reduced-diameter upperleg portions are also offset forwardly in an arcuate man ner, asindicated at 23, to clear the seat pivot rod 2| when the chair is infolded position, as shown inFig. 4.

' A chair'constructed as above described is easily and quickly foldableinto the position illustrated in Fig. 4, wherein it is contained almostentirely within the confines of the Ushaped main. frame member. Thetubular construction of the various parts offers a high degree ofstrength and rigidity without an objectionable amount of Weight, so thatthe structure is highly desirable because of its ease of folding andhandling. It? should also be noted that the seat is of unusually largearea, inasmuch as it extends across almost the entire space between theside members of the U-shaped frame, while being of substantially thesame depth as Width. Comfort is promoted by reason of the unusually lowarrangement of the back rest 22, this being made possible by thedescribed'manner of mounting of the seat on of, pivot means extendinginwardly from said side members above the axis of the pivot connectionbetween said front and rear legs, pivot means carried by the upper endsof said rear legs, a seat having depending side flanges each providedwith longitudinally spaced front and rear slots respectively receivingsaid rear leg pivot means and said side member pivot means, said seatbeing thereby pivotally and slidably movable on said rear leg and onsaid side member pivot means as an incident to the operation of'foldingor unfolding the chair, and the spacing of said slots being such as torestrict the sliding movement of said seat to somewhat less than thefull extent required by the relation of the respective pivot means withthe pivotal connection between the legs for unrestricted folding tothereby effect a resilient binding action of the elements for holdingthe chair in folded condition.

2. In a folding chair of the class described, the combination of mainand auxiliary frame side members pivotally connected intermediate theirlengths and respectively having front leg and back rest portions andrear leg and front seat supporting portions, a rigid seat structurehaving at each side a side-member with a pair of longitudinally alignedand relatively spaced slots formed therein and extending forwardly andrearwardly of the seat, and means for mounting the seat on said main andauxiliary frame side members comprising at each side a supporting pivotcarried by said front seat-supporting portion and entering one of saidslots, and another supporting pivot carried by said main frame sidemember above its pivotal connection with said auxiliary frame sidemember and entering the other of said slots, said seat being therebymounted on said'frame side members for rearward sliding and pivotalfolding movement relative to' the main frame side member and forrelative forward sliding and pivotal folding movement relative to theauxiliary frame side member, whereby, when the seat is folded, saidsupporting pivots are located close to each other and adjacent to acentral position intermediate the front and rear edges of the seat.

3. In a folding chair of the class described, the combination of mainand auxiliary frame side members pivotally connected intermediate theirlengths and respectively having front leg and back rest portions andrear leg and front seat-supporting portions, a rigid seat structurehaving at each side a side-member with a pair of longitudinally alignedand relatively spaced slots formed therein and extending forwardly andrearwardly of the seat, and means for mounting the seat on said main andauxiliary frame side members comprising at each side a supporting pivotcarried by said front seat-supporting portion and entering one of saidslots, and another supporting pivot carried by said main frame sidemember above its pivotal connection with said auxiliary frame sidemember and entering the other of said slots, said seat being therebymounted on said frame side members for rearward sliding and pivotalfolding movement relative to the main frame side member and for relativeforward sliding and pivotal folding movement relative to the auxiliaryframe side member, whereby, when the seat is folded, said supportingpivots are located close to each other and adjacent to a centralposition intermediate the front and rear edges of the seat, thearrangement also being such that when the chair is folded, saidsupporting pivots and the pivotal connection between said main andauxiliary frame side members are approximately aligned with the frameside members and the supporting pivots engage the adjacent slot ends toeffect a clamping action for holding the chair in folded condition.

4. A folding chair comprising a main frame having side membersconstituting front leg and upwardly extending back-rest-formingportions, an auxiliary frame comprising rear legs, said frames beingpivoted together intermediate their lengths so as to be foldableapproximately into coplanar relation, a seat, means for mounting saidseat on said frames so as to permit said folding movement of the framesand folding of the seat substantially into the plane of the frames whenfolded, said means comprising front pivot means extending inwardly fromsaid auxiliary frame leg members above the pivotal connection betweenthe said frames, rear pivot means extending inwardly from said mainframe side members above said pivotal connection, said seat havingdepending side flanges adjacent each of its side edges, each flangebeing provided with longitudinally extending, relatively independentfront and rear slots for respectively pivotally and slidably receivingsaid front and rear pivot means, the arrangement being such that therear portion of the seat is pivotally and rearwardly or downwardlymovable relative to said main frame side members and the front portionis pivotally and forwardly or upwardly movable relative to said rearlegs as an incident to folding of the chair, and a back rest memberextending transversely between said side member back-rest-formingportions, the lower edge of said transverse back rest member beingspaced upwardly from the axis of said rear pivot means a distance whichis less than the distance between said axis and the front edge of theseat when the chair is unfolded but greater when the chair is folded.

JOHN P. MOLLING. THEODORE WM. ANDERSON.

